2023 Thunder Valley Motocross | Race Report & Results

2023 THUNDER VALLEY MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The Pro Motocross Championship continued its summer tour with a visit to Colorado for the 2023 Thunder Valley Motocross. The Rocky Mountains added elements to the race, from elevation that took some horsepower away from the motorcycles to the inescapable slope of the hillside layout and even some afternoon rain, and made for four exciting motos. 

250 Moto One

The first race of the day was off as Haiden Deegan was off to the early lead with Justin Cooper in tail. Meanwhile, Rj Hampshire, Farres, Reynolds, and a handful more of others were down hard towards the end of the start straight. Haiden Deegan and Jalek Swoll went down on the opening lap after losing their balance in a rutted corner. That incident gave Justin Cooper the race lead and Levi Kitchen second place. 

However, Deegan recovered quickly and held onto third place. Jordon Smith then passed into fourth place, which shuffled DiFrancesco back to fifth. Haiden Deegan made a quick pass for second place after Levi Kitchen made a mistake. Meanwhile, Hunter Lawrence was up to sixth place after a bad start and was challenging DiFrancesco for a top-5. 

Hunter Lawrence looked inside of Ryder DiFrancesco a few times, but Ryder shut down each pass attempt. However, Hunter eventually railed an outside and stole the position. After being involved in the start straight crash, Guillem Farres was out of the race with a visible arm injury. 

Laps after passing into fifth, Hunter Lawrence was on Jordon Smith’s rear wheel and challenging for fourth. After a few attempts, Hunter Lawrence eventually used another outside line through a corner to make the pass. A lap later, Hunter made the pass on Levi Kitchen for third place before going after Deegan. 

The red-plate holder finally dove inside of Haiden Deegan and made the pass for second place after Haiden took Hunter wide and nearly brought the pair to a stop. Justin Cooper continued to lead the field and now held over a 10-second cushion on Hunter Lawrence. Jo Shimoda was fighting his way through the pack after a bad start, as he passed Jordon Smith to take over fifth place.

Rj Hampshire, who was involved in the start crash, made his way up to 8th place. Late in the race, Jo Shimoda upped the pace and made the pass on Levi Kitchen for fourth place. And with three laps to go, Jo Shimoda was on Deegan’s rear wheel and made the pass for the podium position. Tom Vialle went down hard on the final lap, ending his race. Justin Cooper crossed the finish line to collect the moto win after an impressive ride. 

250 Moto Two

The second 250MX moto of the day was off, as Justin Cooper was off to the early lead with Levi Kitchen and Hunter Lawrence in tail. Hunter Lawrence made a quick pass on Kitchen on the opening lap, but Levi fired right back a few sections later and retook second place. However, Hunter ultimately secured second place over Levi. Justin Cooper went down while leading and handed Hunter the race lead before remounting in 13th place. 

Hunter Lawrence now held the race lead with Levi Kitchen just behind. Jordon Smith had another good start and sat in third place, but Chance Hymas was on his rear wheel and challenging. Rj Hampshire was on the charge after a bad start, as he made the pass on Deegan for tenth place. 

After lurking for a few laps, Chance Hymas made the pass on Jordon Smith for third place. Jo Shimoda then raced Jalek Swoll down the hill and beat him to the corner to claim fifth place. Rj Hampshire went down in the ruts and dropped back outside of the top-10. Maximus Vohland then made the pass on Swoll after the pair swapped positions and lines a few times. 

Jo Shimoda continued to make passes, as he advanced past Jordon Smith for fourth place. Justin Cooper was back in the top-10 after his crash and had passed Deegan and DiFrancesco for 8th place. Up front, Maximus Vohland passed Smith and claimed fifth place. A few laps later, Justin Cooper railed around the outside of Jordon Smith to pick up sixth. Justin Cooper then passed Vohland on a downhill and secured fourth place. 

With two laps to go, Justin Cooper caught Shimoda but Jo took him wide and fought for the position. On the final lap, Jo Shimoda went down and dropped back to 8th place. Hunter Lawrence crossed the finish line to claim another overall win and extend his points lead. 

450 Moto One

The first 450MX race at Thunder Valley was off and Jett Lawrence was off to the early lead with Cooper Webb in tail. Ty Masterpool, who qualified third fastest, was down in the first turn with a few others. Adam Cianciarulo sat in third place and had Freddie Noren trailing. Dylan Ferrandis cut down in a rut and collided with Aaron Plessinger, dropping the pair from 5th and 6th place to outside of the top-30. 

After just a few laps, Jett Lawrence already held a 4-second lead on Cooper Webb. Derek Drake made the pass on Noren and then began pressuring Adam Cianciarulo for third place. Though, Adam upped his pace and Derek made a few minor mistakes that kept him in fourth. After remounting in dead last following a first turn crash, Ty Masterpool was up to ninth place and still had 20-minutes on the clock. 

Aaron Plessinger was up to ninth place after his first lap incident with Ferrandis, however, Garrett Marchbanks was in eighth place and putting up a fight. After a few laps of battling, Aaron Plessinger finally secured the position following a dive to the inside. Plessinger then passed Masterpool for seventh before going after Harlan and Noren. 

Aaron Plessinger eventually made both passes and advanced up to fifth place. Ty Masterpool followed Plessinger and made passes on Noren and Harlan to claim sixth. While being pressured by Masterpool, Aaron Plessinger then caught and passed Derek Drake. Again, Ty followed Plessinger’s move and advanced past Drake. Ty then ran into Aaron’s rear wheel in a rut and bobbled. 

With two laps to go, Cooper Webb went down and then remounted just in front of Cianciarulo to hold onto second place. On the final lap, Ty Masterpool made the pass on Plessinger for fourth but Aaron fired back a section later to retake fourth. Jett Lawrence crossed the checkered flag nearly 30-seconds ahead of second place and grabbed his fifth moto win. 

450 Moto Two

The final race of the day was underway and Jett Lawrence was off to the early lead with Grant Harlan in tail. Adam Cianciarulo was in third place off the start, but Dylan Ferrandis made a quick pass before going after Harlan. Ferrandis then secured second place, but Jett was already over a second ahead. 

Adam Cianciarulo dove inside of Ferrandis to take second place back, as both Aaron Plessinger and Cooper Webb passed into fourth and fifth place. Derek Drake then passed Harlan for seventh place. Cooper Webb began pressuring Ferrandis for third place and made the pass after scrubbing over the finish line jump. Ty Masterpool joined the picture, as the privateer passed Drake for sixth place. 

Aaron Plessinger then passed Ferrandis and joined his teammate(Webb) in pursuit of Adam Cianciarulo. Though, Plessinger made the pass on Webb before ripping around the outside of Cianciarulo to take over second place. Cooper Webb then raced inside of Cianciarulo to make the pass. Ty Masterpool made the pass on Ferrandis before passing Cianciarulo for fourth place. 

A few laps later, Ty Masterpool was on Cooper Webb’s rear wheel and challenging for third place. After a lap of lurking, Ty sprinted inside of Webb and made the pass for third place. Dylan Ferrandis then made the pass on Cooper Webb for fourth place, as Grant Harlan pressured Cianciarulo for sixth. 

On the final lap, Dylan Ferrandis made the pass on Ty Masterpool for third place. Jett Lawrence took the checkered flag to make it six for six in his 450 career.